RUNNINGHEADER:LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique 1

Assignment
LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique
GaryPage
ETEC512Fall2012
UniversityofBritishColumbia
ProfessorJenniferD.Shapka

LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique 2
Introduction
Aspertheassignmentrequirements,thiselectronicdocumentwillprovidedetailsona
lessonplanforMicrosoftExcel,acomputerapplicationusedinbusinessandeducation
environmentstoday.Thedocumentwillcritiqueandanalysetheoriginallessonplanand
providedetailsonanimprovedversion.
LessonPlan
Alessonplanisateachersthoughts,projections,andguidelinesforfacilitatingthe
instructionofstudentsinaparticularsubjectarea.Inessence,thelessonplanprovidesa
roadmapforinstruction.Theoriginallessonplan,althoughadequate,requiredsomechangesto
makethismoreappropriate,particularlyfortheassurancethatthislearningwouldbe
structuredbasedonlearningtheory.
Thestatementofthespecificgoalsisoneexamplewherethislessonplancouldbe
improved.Intheoriginallessonplan,bothgoalsandobjectivesarelistedbuttheseareasare
similarandunnecessarilyredundant.Theimprovedlessonplanhasstatedlearninggoalsbased
onthelearningtheoriestobeappliedduringthislesson.Thelearninggoalsnowlisted
specificallyreferencelearningtheories.Lessonplanobjectivesarecreatedforthelesson
materialtobetaught.Eachlessonspecificactivityisassociatedwithalistedlearninggoal.This
willensurealllearningtasksarerelevanttothelearninggoalslistedforthelesson.
Objectivesarerequiredtoensurethatnotonlyaretherelearninggoalsbasedon
learningtheory,butobjectivesthatarepurposefulandrelatetoeachstudentspecificactivity.
Inturn,thelessonspecificactivitiesnowrelatetostatedobjectives.Iftheobjectivesaretobe
LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique 3
accomplishedbystudents,theseobjectivesshouldbewordedsothattheyarestudentspecific.
Forexample,Studentswill.Theimprovedlessonplanhasbeenenhancedtoensurethisis
detailed.
Asalessonisplanned,certainitemsneedtobetakenintoconsideration.Alesson
shouldbeageappropriate,basedonPiagetslearningtheories.Theimprovedlessonisfor
studentsintheFormalOperationalagerange.Granted,eveniftheagerangesarenotexactly
asdefinedinhistheory,secondarystudentsarebeabletoaccomplishthetaskslistedinthis
lesson.ThesestudentsareabletoworkbeyondtheConcreteOperationalstageofsolving
problemslogicallybuthavetroublethinkinghypothetically.Thisimprovedlessonwouldnotbe
appropriateforyoungerchildren,whomaynotbeabletotakethisinformationandmakethe
connectionsnecessarytocreaterelevantmaterialontheirown.Thispointisreflectedin
LearningGoalTwo.
Throughtheassistanceofamorecapableperson,studentsareatadevelopmentstage
wheretheyareabletolearnskillsoraspectsofaskillthatmaybebeyondtheiractual
developmentalormaturationallevel,asdetailedinVygotskyslearningtheories.Workingwith
othergroupmembersand/ortheteacherasspreadsheetsmentorswillenhancethestudent
learningexperience.ThisisreflectedinLearningGoalThree.
UsingBehaviouristprinciplespromotesapositivelearningenvironmentwherestudents
behavetosatisfytheneedsofothersintheclassroomenvironment.Aclearexpectationof
appropriatebehaviourissetatthestartofthelesson.Thisincludeswhattheexpectationsare
fortheentiregroupandindividualmembersregarding:thecompletionoftherequiredtasks
LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique 4
andtheinteractionbetweenmembersofthislearninggroup:TeacherStudent,Student
Student,etc.Partoftheevaluationofthislessonwillbethegroupdynamicofthestudents
including:attentiveness,respectfulinteraction,etc.ThisisreflectedinLearningGoalOne.
UsingConstructivistlearningtheories,inordertofacilitatenotonlyindividuallearning
butlearningaspartofthegroupdynamic,therearenowlessonspecifictasksbasedonthe
interactionwithotherstudents,teacher,andothersoutsideschool(parents,friends,etc.)This
istoenhancetheopportunityforstudentstomakediscoveriesforthemselvesbasedontheir
environmentandculturalsetting.Aswell,studentswillperformreinforcementtasksbasedon
theirowncircumstanceandtheintrinsicvaluethismaterialprovidesforthemwillenhance
theirabilitytoretainknowledge.ThisisreflectedinLearningGoalFour.
LearningGoalFiveislistedtoensurealearningenvironmentiscreatedthatisthesame
orsimilartocontextinwhichthisknowledgewillbeapplied.Thissituatedlearning,asdetailed
inthistheory,willincreasetheabilityforstudentstoretainthisknowledge.Workingona
spreadsheetathomebasedoninformationthatisofpersonalinterest,etc.issomething
anyonecouldpossiblydo.Aswell,iftheirpersonalcircumstanceinvolvesfinancialrewardsor
pay,suchasparttimeemployment,thesetypesofentriescouldbeincluded.Askingafriend,
parent,etc.tosharetheirreasonforusingaspreadsheetbringstolifethesituationswhere
spreadsheetsareusedintherealworld.
Furthermore,thisappliestodistributedcognitionbyplacingmemories,facts,or
knowledgeontheobjects,individuals,andtoolsinthestudentenvironment.Bycreating
spreadsheetproblems,anddiscussingthesewithanotherperson(s),andperforming
LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique 5
manipulations,bothinthestudentsheadandbyusingthespreadsheettomakecalculations,
eachstudentwillbenefit.Aswell,searchingtheinternetforspreadsheetexampleswillbroaden
thestudentsoverallknowledgeofhowspreadsheetsareused.ThisisreflectedinLearning
GoalSix.
Conclusion
Theoriginallessonalthoughadequatewastoogenericandnotwellstructured.The
improvedlessonwasmodifiedtobemorestreamlinedandcertainareaswereremovedasthey
didprovideenoughvaluetotheplan.Byrelatinglearninggoalsbasedonlearningtheoryto
lessonactivities,notonlyisthelearningroadmapsetbutthepointsonthemaparerelatedto
specificgoalsthataresetoutbeforethejourneyevenbegins.Usingmultiplelearningtheories,
asopposedtofewornone,willincreasetheprobabilitystudentsretainthisknowledgeanduse
thisexpertiseinthefuture.Thisknowledgeretentionanduseisandshouldbetheprimary
objectiveforanylessonplan.
References
Brown,J.S.,Collins,A.&Duguid,S.(1989).Situatedcognitionandthecultureoflearning.
EducationalResearcher,18,3242.
Good,R.,Mellon,E.K.,Kromhout,R.A.(1978).TheworkofJeanPiaget.JournalofChemical
Engineering,55,688693.
Hutchins,E.(2000).DistributedCognition.
LessonPlan/SyllabusCritique 6
JohnSteiner,V.&Mahn,H.(1996).Socioculturalapproachestolearninganddevelopment:A
Vygotskianframework,EducationalPsychologist,31,191206.
Standridge,M..(2002).Behaviorism.InM.Orey(Ed.),Emergingperspectivesonlearning,
teaching,andtechnology.
Von Glasersfeld, E. (2008). Learning as a Constructive Activity. AntiMatters, 2(3), 33-49.
YouTube,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axi7xctulbM&feature=related,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkxFjVBNYpk&feature=related.